#kayssolotrips

[kaybythebay]

Today is the day where we celebrate the natural world and all that it provides. This is usually the time where I’m out hiking almost every weekend and getting really dirty & tan, but during this time of uncertainty, we can always rely on Mother Earth's breath-taking beauty to remain constant. Can’t wait to get out there again and just be in my element. Happy Earth Day everyone! Take care of her, as she’ll take care of you. ♥️🌎🌍🌏🌲 // #earthday #navajo #kayssolotrips #canyon #navajoland #sacred #desert #outdoors #nature #hiking #modernhiker #travel #findyourpark #rei1440project #exploring #hike #weekendsherpa #landscape #52hikechallenge #gopark #environment #earthday2020 https://www.instagram.com/p/B_TyAPID4dD/?igshid=lgxumiqnhik8

[kaybythebay]

The best of 2019 generated this collage based on the number of likes, but definitely does not summarize all the best of this year. ✨ 2019 was filled with many unexpected blessings and first timers. New dog, new co-workers, new solo travels, new boyfriend. Never did I imagine any of that would happen this year. Never thought a dog who was lost & neglected would find us, take shelter in my garage & become apart of the family. Never thought I’d get so close to my new co-workers and love ‘em. Never thought I’d meet an amazing person like John, and get taken off the market after 3.5 years of the single life. 2019 was filled with a lot of solo hiking and solo trips with myself that I found peaceful & to which brought a new sense of independence. I love my own company & traveling with myself lol. I crossed off 2 new National Parks, met a lot of people along the way and hiked a couple of new travel destinations protected by the state and on Navajo territory. I ran 9 races total adding to the 15 half-marathons I’ve ran so far. We said goodbye to Bruce Bochy this year with the @sfgiants, I turned 31, experienced some loss, said goodbye to certain people in my life; but welcomed new people into my life, and the list goes on. With all of that happening in 2019, this year was actually a great year to conclude the decade. I’m grateful for all the blessings from this year & look forward to what 2020 and the new decade has to offer. Cheers to new beginnings everyone! I’m so grateful and blessed to have such wonderful people in my life! ☺️♥️🥂🎉 // #anakbasuel #basuel #family #sfgiants #brucebochy #ebrpd #nps #hiking #travel #kayssolotrips #nationalparks #nevada #arizona #washington #pointreyes #31 #jk👫 #topnine #2019 #mountrainiernationalpark #recap #nye #topnine2019 https://www.instagram.com/p/B6v_0LejztT/?igshid=1vqsl1xetpzsj

[kaybythebay]

Guess what Twilight fans, Forks is a real town. La Push is an actual beach, & the Quileute Tribe is an actual tribe. Drove 3.5 hours in the rain en route to Olympic National Park, & wanted to stop by one of the most rainiest towns in the country, along Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. I do have to say, Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga Novels portrayed Forks, Washington pretty dam well. ☔️🐺 🧛‍♂️// #forks #forkswashington #twilight #washington #twilightsaga #stepheniemeyer #outdoors #october #nature #rain #travel #pnw #pacificnorthwest #findyourpark #hiking #rei1440project #exploring #adventure #kayssolotrips (at Forks, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3lmM9AjLXw/?igshid=ygi9s1cbp3i6

[kaybythebay]

Considering I pretty much drink Starbucks brew/beans/beverages/espresso/everything almost every freaken day, I thought the coffee connoisseur in me should pay homage to the first, original ever Starbucks ever created, & be a freaken tourist lol. ♥️☕️ // #thefirststarbucks #starbucks #coffee #seattle #washington #pikesplace #coffeeshop #pikeplacemarket #coffeeholic #coffeeaddict #kayssolotrips (at The First Starbucks 1912 Pike Pl.) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3iBaIbjGXb/?igshid=85cqbooz2fqs

[kaybythebay]

“I never met a color I didn’t like.” -Dale Chihuly....🎨 // That being said, seeing his glass artwork exhibits both in Vegas & now Seattle was pretty amazing! Walking through his glass garden was absolutely intriguingly beautiful...♥️ // #art #artofvisuals #glass #dalechihuly #chihuly #chihulygardenandglass #color #glassblowing #washington #travel #seattle #pnw #pacificnorthwest #glassart #kayssolotrips (at Seattle, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3dwr4ojFEB/?igshid=wzf6dbcmvulk

[kaybythebay]

You’re pretty Seattle, but you’re not as beautiful as what’s outside of it. I may be on top of the Space Needle overlooking the city, but I can’t get over at how much natural beauty there is outside of the city. The outdoors, the mountains along the cascade range, the Pacific North West, the coast, the country side & the nature of Washington is nothing like no other. That’s where it’s all at...♥️🏔 // #landscape #skyline #heights #spaceneedle #october #landscape #city #washington #travel #seattle #chasingnationalparks #pnw #pacificnorthwest #kayssolotrips (at Space Needle) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3Tm6ZRjlSD/?igshid=3e0tb7wywb5l

[kaybythebay]

You guys should have seen my facial expression when I saw Crater Lake National Park aerial view. I’m pretty sure the random guy sitting next to me on the plane was like, “wth is she looking at down there?!” 😂 I’ve been to Oregon & Washington before this solo trip of mine, but I haven’t been to Crater Lake National Park yet. I obviously knew I was gonna fly over it, but it didn’t occur to me that I would actually see it considering which side of the plane I was sitting on, plus it’s been foggy & snowing a lot. 🌬❄️ I actually met a San Francisco guy on the trail I was hiking on at Mt. Rainier NP, & he told me that he drove to Crater Lake en route to Washington from the Bay Area and he wasn’t even able to see anything due to the fog & snow. The beauty of @craterlakenationalpark almost made me wanna tear up when I saw it aerial view. I said to myself, I can’t wait to actually see Crater Lake in person & do a bike ride around parts of it. 😍 I also threw pics of Mt. Shasta in there before when hitting the California/Oregon border. Closest I’ve ever been to Mt. Shasta was when I camped at Lassen National Park, so it was beautiful just seeing it from aerial view! ♥️🗻🏔🌲 // #craterlake #craterlakenationalpark #oregon #california #mtshasta #mountshasta #aerialview #outdoors #october #nature #landscape #nps #goparks #nationalpark #nationalparkservice #chasingnationalparks #travel #weekendsherpa #kayssolotrips (at Crater Lake National Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3ST8eAj88K/?igshid=1mbvm444urmm0

[kaybythebay]

The upside of this quarantine? I can FINALLY upload my solo travel pics & de-clutter my iPhone. Gonna be uploading travel pics on the daily that I never got the chance to even post. Going on these solo trips to do these solo hikes has been one of the most liberating things I’ve done for myself, while crossing off National Parks, State parks, and parks that are sacred to the Navajo Nation. While hiking & traveling alone, I guess I’ve been practicing the art of social distancing before it became the norm. Being in nature definitely brings a lot of solitude and peace. When times were simpler… can’t wait to be back out again! 🥾✈️🏜🏞 // #antelopecanyon #navajo #page #americansouthwest #canyon #navajoland #sacred #arizona #desert #pagearizona #outdoors #nature #hiking #modernhiker #findyourpark #rei1440project #exploring #gopark #adventure #hike #weekendsherpa #landscape #tbt #throwbackthursday #52hikechallenge #travel #kayssolotrips (at Page, Arizona) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-OT4keD6iX/?igshid=s85c5ggiql42

[kaybythebay]

“She is a wild, tangled forest with temples and treasures concealed within.” ....💚 Olympic National Park, it’s way too easy to fall in love with this NP. Why? Olympic has 3 major ecosystems- high mountains with overlaid glaciers, subalpine forest, meadows, temperate rain forest & miles of sandy/rock Pacific coastline with beaches, rivers & tidepools. So much diversity that this park offers, and it’s one of the last places in the 48 states to remain essentially a blank spot in the map. It’s still a challenge to get to know it’s wild interior because it’s not a drive-through Park. No road crosses it’s heart, & 95% of the park is officially designated wilderness. This picture was taken along the western slopes of Olympic National Park which are among the rainiest places in North America, creating this rain forest filled with lushness ferns & mosses. The old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest produces 3x the biomass (organic material) of tropical rain forests. It was raining while hiking through here, and it was worth getting soaked over. This was place was freaken amazing beyond words, and I’ve never seen so much green in my life. Don’t pay attention to tiny me, pay attention to these gigantic rainforest trees! 😍 🌧🗻🏔🌲 // #olympic #olympicnationalpark #hohrainforest #washington #forkswashington #hallofmosses #outdoors #nature #landscape #nps #goparks #nationalpark #rainforest #hoh #hike #nationalparkservice #modernhiker #findyourpark #chasingnationalparks #travel #pnw #cascades #pacificnorthwest #weekendsherpa #kayssolotrips #hiking #rei1440project #exploring #adventure #weekendsherpa #52hikechallenge (at Hoh Rainforest) https://www.instagram.com/p/B33hrdgj4DN/?igshid=16v0zec3dx6p

[kaybythebay]

“She is a wild, tangled forest with temples and treasures concealed within.” ....💚 Olympic National Park, it’s way too easy to fall in love with this NP. Why? Olympic has 3 major ecosystems- high mountains with overlaid glaciers, subalpine forest, meadows, temperate rain forest & miles of sandy/rock Pacific coastline with beaches, rivers & tidepools. So much diversity that this park offers, and it’s one of the last places in the 48 states to remain essentially a blank spot in the map. It’s still a challenge to get to know it’s wild interior because it’s not a drive-through Park. No road crosses it’s heart, & 95% of the park is officially designated wilderness. This picture was taken along the western slopes of Olympic National Park which are among the rainiest places in North America, creating this rain forest filled with lushness ferns & mosses. The old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest produces 3x the biomass (organic material) of tropical rain forests. It was raining while hiking through here, and it was worth getting soaked over. This was place was freaken amazing beyond words, and I’ve never seen so much green in my life. Don’t pay attention to tiny me, pay attention to these gigantic rainforest trees! 😍 🌧🗻🏔🌲 // #olympic #olympicnationalpark #hohrainforest #washington #forkswashington #hallofmosses #outdoors #october #nature #landscape #nps #goparks #nationalpark #rainforest #hoh #nationalparkservice #modernhiker #chasingnationalparks #travel #pnw #pacificnorthwest #weekendsherpa #kayssolotrips #findyourpark #hiking #rei1440project #exploring #adventure #weekendsherpa #hike #52hikechallenge #cascades https://www.instagram.com/p/B33hgghjRhL/?igshid=1n1thbxv9gjmt

[kaybythebay]

“She is a wild, tangled forest with temples and treasures concealed within.” ....💚 Olympic National Park, it’s way too easy to fall in love with this NP. Why? Olympic has 3 major ecosystems- high mountains with overlaid glaciers, subalpine forest, meadows, temperate rain forest & miles of sandy/rock Pacific coastline with beaches, rivers & tidepools. So much diversity that this park offers, and it’s one of the last places in the 48 states to remain essentially a blank spot in the map. It’s still a challenge to get to know it’s wild interior because it’s not a drive-through Park. No road crosses it’s heart, & 95% of the park is officially designated wilderness. This picture was taken along the western slopes of Olympic National Park which are among the rainiest places in North America, creating this rain forest filled with lushness ferns & mosses. The old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest produces 3x the biomass (organic material) of tropical rain forests. It was raining while hiking through here, and it was worth getting soaked over. This was place was freaken amazing beyond words, and I’ve never seen so much green in my life. Don’t pay attention to tiny me, pay attention to these gigantic rainforest trees! 😍 🌧🗻🏔🌲 // #olympic #olympicnationalpark #hohrainforest #washington #forkswashington #hallofmosses #outdoors #october #nature #landscape #nps #goparks #nationalpark #rainforest #hoh #nationalparkservice #modernhiker #chasingnationalparks #travel #pnw #pacificnorthwest #weekendsherpa #kayssolotrips #findyourpark #hiking #rei1440project #exploring #adventure #weekendsherpa #hike #52hikechallenge #cascades #coastline #rainforests (at Hoh Rainforest) https://www.instagram.com/p/B33hRqyDOf2/?igshid=1wlji92yv3rxt

[kaybythebay]

“Come to the woods, for here is rest. There is no repose like that of the green deep woods. Here grow the wallflower and the violet. The squirrel will come and sit upon your knee, the logcock will wake you in the morning. Sleep in forgetfulness of all ill. Of all the upness accessible to mortals, there is no upness comparable to the mountains.” – John Muir ♥️🏔🌲❄️ // I know that’s an overrated Muir quote, but there’s no other quote that accurately describes the Pacific North West quite like that one. Coming here was exactly what I needed. Wanted to disconnect from the world, not have any cell phone reception & just reconnect again with the outdoors. Everything is better up here...even the animals are a lot nicer & friendlier. 🤣 Pic was taken while it began to snow at the starting point of my trail. ♥️🥾 // #mountrainiernationalpark #mtrainier #mowichlake #washington #mountrainier #tolmietrail #outdoors #october #nature #landscape #nps #goparks #nationalpark #trekking #nationalparkservice #modernhiker #chasingnationalparks #travel #pnw #pacificnorthwest #weekendsherpa #kayssolotrips #findyourpark #hiking #rei1440project #exploring #adventure #hike #johnmuir #weekendsherpa #52hikechallenge (at Pacific Northwest) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3XGabED8K2/?igshid=1vtknk9mcgebw